Chapter 014: It Was Originally a Dream of Red Mansions
The Salt Inspector was an official position unique to Lianghuai. Although it was only a third-rank official title, it was one of the most lucrative positions in the world.
Not only was he in charge of the salt tax in Lianghuai, but he also had the right to supervise all officials. In terms of status, he was no less than the governor of a province, and was only slightly lower than the Governor-General of Liangjiang. Therefore, only the emperor's close ministers could hold this position.
Jia Lian's uncle, Lin Ruhai, was once such a extravagant person.
However, these are all things of the past. After Lin Ruhai died of illness while in office, all the wealth and glory of the past also disappeared.
At present, the office of the Salt Administration was in a desolate state. Even the slaves and maids had been dismissed, leaving only a few servants that Jia Lian brought from the capital.
But it was evening of that day.
In the small hall at the back of the government office, the lights were on again, which was rare. The two copper stoves were filled with silver frost charcoal, making it as warm as early summer.
Under the candlelight, Jia Lian was seen drinking one cup after another of the yellow soup. His eyes were straight and his body was shaking, but he was still talking nonsense with his tongue sticking out: "Come on, this... this cup of wine, second brother wants to toast your confidante! If it weren't for her, how could you and I drink so happily?!"
He had been busy with funeral arrangements these days and also had to take care of his young cousin at home. He had not been able to drink for more than half a year and had been craving for alcohol.
Therefore, when they heard that Sun Shaozong had brought his female relatives with him, they were overjoyed!
According to the customs at that time, if there were only two men, Jia Lian and Sun Shaozong, they would not be able to drink in the government office for the sake of their cousin's reputation - but with the women of the Sun family accompanying them, there was no need to worry about anything.
Jia Lian happily ordered people to invite Ruan Rong to the backyard and arrange for her to rest with his cousin. He immediately set up a banquet and took Sun Shaozong to drink from noon until dusk.
Seeing that Jia Lian was obviously drunk, Sun Shaozong drank another cup with him, and while he was not paying attention, he replaced the drinks in both cups with tea.
As soon as he put the teapot back on the table, Jia Lian suddenly bent over his desk and burst into tears, mumbling incoherently: "My poor cousin, she was a fairy from heaven, but she has such bad luck. First she lost her mother, then her father. She has even spoken less these days, and she has become so thin!"
Sun Shaozong was speechless for a while. He was just wondering whether to call the servants to send him back to the bedroom to rest, but he heard him pounding the table and shouting: "Daiyu, Daiyu, don't blame your second brother Lian for being so mean and rotten-hearted. It's really... it's really..."
What was "really"? His words were vague and unclear, but the two words "Daiyu" were like thunder and lightning, making Sun Shaozong's head buzz!
Daiyu?
Lin Daiyu?!
Isn't that the heroine in Dream of the Red Chamber? !
Sun Shaozong was also a "rough man" in his previous life. He loved stories from the Three Kingdoms the most, and had also read Water Margin and Journey to the West. Among the four great classics, only Dream of the Red Chamber had he never read.
Therefore, he did not know that Jia Lian, Sun Shaozu and others were also characters in the book.
But Sun Shaozong had heard of the names of the protagonists: Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai!
At this moment, when he suddenly heard the name of Daiyu and contacted the Jia family, he didn't know that he had traveled to the Dream of the Red Chamber?
But why is it Dream of the Red Chamber? !
If he were to go to the world of the Three Kingdoms or Water Margin, with his foresight and powerful martial arts, even if he couldn't establish an empire, at least he would be able to get a title and a marquisate without any problem!
But this Dream of the Red Chamber...
How could he know what was written in the book?
After thinking hard for a long time about Jia Lian who was crying and laughing, Sun Shaozong only vaguely remembered that Dream of the Red Chamber was mainly about the Jia family, and it seemed to be a love tragedy - but he had no impression of the specific story.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Jia Lian was chattering away like a woman again. Sun Shaozong could not help but pick up a jar of rice wine, casually broke the mud seal, tilted his head back and drank it in big gulps!
He is now about 1.93 meters tall and weighs about 240 kilograms. Naturally, his stomach is much bigger than that of an ordinary person, so he finished a jar of rice wine in just a short while.
Adding the two pots I drank before, I drank at least four kilograms!
Although the alcohol content of this rice wine was not very high, about the same as beer, its aftereffect was much greater than that of beer. After drinking so much, Sun Shaozong became drunk in a short time.
He was in a daze, not knowing what was wrong with his brain. He tapped the cups and plates with his chopsticks, and the song "The East Flows Like a Rolling Yangtze" came out of his throat.
The desolate and majestic singing voice spread in the night, complementing the bleak atmosphere in this government office after its prosperity.
--Dividing line--
Squeak~
The window of the west wing in the backyard was split to the left and right. Ruan Rong poked her head out and listened for a moment. She turned back and asked curiously, "Brother Sun, this song about the Yangtze River and heroes sounds quite interesting. Does Sister Lin know what lyrics and music he is singing?"
Following her gaze, I saw a tiny person like a sculpture of ice or jade sitting on a spring stool, dressed in a linen dress. Who else could it be but Lin Daiyu?
Although the two of them had only been together for half a day, since both of them were young ladies from official families who lost their mothers at a young age and were not the type to follow the rules, they felt that they had met each other too late.
Perhaps some cold air blew in from the window. Daiyu hunched her shoulders, frowned, and pondered for a long while before shaking her head and saying, "This poem is simple, majestic, generous, and sad. It can be regarded as a first-class masterpiece among all the Linjiangxian poems of all dynasties, but I have never heard of it, let alone who wrote it."
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Ruan Rong quickly closed the window.
Then she heard her say that she had never heard of this poem. Ruan Rong's eyes suddenly lit up. She rushed to Daiyu and threw herself on the round table covered with Shu brocade. She asked excitedly , "Then do you think this poem was written by Brother Sun?"
Daiyu stared at her for a long while, then suddenly burst out laughing, quickly covered her mouth, and said with a giggle: "It is said that 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder', but you are so good, you can actually see a great talent in a man just by listening to him!"
Ruan Rong's cheeks flushed, and she felt that she was fanciful, but she still insisted, "You haven't heard of this poem either, so why can't it be written by Brother Sun?!"
Daiyu laughed again and said, "I am still young and not a great talent. How many poems and songs can I have read? If all the poems and lyrics I have never heard of are attributed to your beloved brother, then he can easily write hundreds of poems after drinking a lot of wine. It is really easy to be a plagiarist!"
Ruan Rong was speechless after hearing what she said, and seeing that the girl was smiling like a little fox, she could not help but pounce on her angrily and scratch her under the armpits and waist, which made Daiyu so itchy that she begged for mercy repeatedly.
After all this laughter and joking, the two of them became closer.
Seeing that Daiyu's hands were cold and she couldn't feel any warmth, Ruan Rong simply opened her woolen coat and wrapped her up in her arms. She rubbed Daiyu's forehead with her chin and sighed with a look of anger but actually joy: "You are good in every way, but you have a sharp tongue and won't forgive others. "
Daiyu buried her head between those two peaks, and felt a warm fragrance in her mouth and nose. She felt so attached to them that she could not help but remind them: "Sister, if you are so careless, aren't you afraid that Captain Sun... Captain Sun's family will disown you? Don't forget the rule of 'marry her if you marry her, and marry her if you run away.'"
She originally wanted to say, "I'm not afraid that Captain Sun will be an unfaithful man," but she was afraid that this would be too hurtful, so she changed her words temporarily.
But even so, Ruan Rong's body still stiffened when she heard the words, but soon softened again, burying her pretty face in Daiyu's black hair, and said leisurely: "So what if I can only be a concubine? It's much better than missing out on your beloved and regretting it for the rest of your life."
